


Crikey Mate!

by ThinkingCAPSLOCK



Series: NoctLuna Week [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Birthday, Established Relationship, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 19:13:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11950824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThinkingCAPSLOCK/pseuds/ThinkingCAPSLOCK
Summary: It wouldn't be his birthday without something going wrong.-Day 2 of NoctLuna Week - "Noctis' Birthday"





	Crikey Mate!

Noctis reaches into his bag, hoping, against all odds, for something to go right today. First, his part time job called him for a shift, and, the moment he arrived, told him they didn't need him after all. On the bus back, he got a phone call first from Ignis, lecturing him over his late reply to his father's business reception, and then one from his father on the exact same topic. Midway through the chat, and with half his battery left, his phone died. It's still dead in his pocket. He doesn't even want to consider what the inevitable voicemail is going to say when he manages to get it back on.

It wouldn't be his birthday without something going wrong, but if one more thing does, however small, he's going to burrow in a blanket and watch reruns of Crocodile Hunter until he dies. That will be his birthday gift to himself: death. Freedom from third year university, all the work it entails, and his possibly broken forever phone. Or, maybe he'll just take a really long nap. 

Something cold hits his fingers and - oh, thank the Astrals _he has his keys._ He's never been happier to see the ugly scratched metal attached to various charms of dogs, birds, landmarks, and whatever other creatures his friends keep pawning off on him. Cindy even made him take a Swiss Army knife last time he saw her, but that item doesn't seem to be attached to the chain anymore. 

Yeah, it's definitely Crocodile Hunter and blanket time.

With a sigh that rattles his chest, he forces the key in the door, shoving it open with his shoulder. Before the door's fully open he dumps his bag on the floor, staring at the carpet as he kicks off his shoes. He'll put his phone in the charger and hope for the best, find the softest blanket, and-

On the list of things he expected to see inside the apartment when he entered, there were only two items. One: Prompto, his roommate, asleep on the couch, or, two, the remnants of Prompto, who had previously been sleeping on the couch, and had left in a hungry hurry for more snacks. Instead, he's staring at his girlfriend, Lunafreya, standing on a kitchen chair in a pair of his slippers, taping streamers to a ceiling already covered in balloons, a roll of tape on her arm like a bracelet. She's staring at him. 

"You're supposed to be at work," she accuses, as if he, in his own apartment, was the one out of place. She frowns, putting her hands on her hips. The streamer dangles down in front of her face, a splash of yellow and blue. "Prompto said you wouldn't be home until five."

"They, uh, cancelled my shift," Noctis says. "How did you get in?"

"This may surprise you, but I am friends with Prompto, especially considering we've all known each other since we were kids." Lunafreya sighs, tucking a strand of her bangs behind her ear. She slides down the chair, seating herself in it. "I'd thought it would be a nice surprise. I had planned to do it tomorrow, but when you got your shift, we all thought..."

It's not often Lunafreya looks disappointed, and it's even rarer for the cause to be something other than a large moral failing by the government or her favourite sports team losing a playoff match. But slumping in the chair, tugging the tape roll off her arm, she looks so despondent Noctis shoves all his plans for naps and death and endless hours of an Australian man and his weird animals aside. Before he realizes it, he's walked over to her, crouching beside the chair, taking the tape out of her hands in order to hold them.

"I can leave, and come back later, and pretend to be surprised?" he offers. As he'd hoped, it makes Lunafreya laugh, and he feels a little lighter despite the awful day. "It's not going to be a total loss, Luna. I've had worse birthdays."

"That's why I wanted to make this one good. I made sure there weren't too many people coming, just our close friends. Ignis will be here soon to start cooking your favourite meal - he and Prompto went out shopping, since you live in squalor. And Gentiana's picking Gladiolus up at the airport as we speak." Noctis stares at her as she talks, and, like almost every time she speaks, he feels an overwhelming sense of pride. However disappointed she is her plans aren't going perfectly, she's still amazing. She knows how much he doesn't like big parties, and the small scale of this is so tailored to him it makes his chest hurt. And he was going to waste the day watching TV.

Lunafreya looks down at him, at first from the corner of her eyes, then turning her head. She brushes his bangs away from his face. "Remember last year, when we went to the zoo for a date on your birthday, and the zebras escaped? They had to shut the whole place down. It was a nightmare."

"Or two years ago, when Dad crashed the boat at the lake house and we didn't know where he was for nine hours? Cor finally found him fishing off a buoy."

"Or when you were turning, what was it? Twelve? And the ceiling fan broke off and landed in the cake and splattered us all? It never came out of my dress."

The words sit in the air for a moment. Lunafreya and Noctis look at each other, and, in sync, burst out laughing. Lunafreya's is light and airy, Noctis' shorter and barking, but they mix together in the apartment as the two reminisce. Noctis gives her hands a squeeze, standing up, tugging her out of the chair along with him. She's still smiling, still laughing, as he plants a small kiss on her forehead. 

"We can still have a party, Luna. Just not a surprise one. I'll help you finish decorating." 

She shakes her head, pulling her hands back and bending down to grab the tape from the floor. "It's your birthday, Noct. I'll decorate. You relax."

"I want to help," he insists, surprised to find it true. He _does_ want to help her - with Lunafreya, he often finds himself wanting to do anything that makes her happy. "Besides, all I was going to do today was watch Crocodile Hunter."

"What, again? Didn't you just finish yesterday?" 

"It was four days ago. I don't watch it that much."

Lunafreya's eyebrows rise as she stands, enough to make Noctis groan. He doesn't do it that often. Twice a month, at best. He opens his mouth to object, or defend himself, but Lunafreya shoves the tape into his chest. He fumbles for it, and, when he looks up again, she's leaning forward.

The kiss is short, and sweet, and makes Noctis feel like his chest and face are on fire, even after two years of dating. He holds tightly onto the tape, unsure what else to do with his hands, as Lunafreya cups his cheek and smiles. 

"Happy birthday, Noctis," she whispers, and the day improves a hundred, thousand, million times over.


End file.
